title: Disability and cost for diabetic patients at a public district hospital in Thailand.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study determined the rate of disability among diabetic patients at a public district hospital in Thailand and compared the costs of illness among different levels of severity of disability. This was the first such study carried out in Thailand.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted at Waritchaphum Hospital in northeastern Thailand. Data were collected from 475 randomly selected diabetic patients identified by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10 codes E10 - E14) who received treatment from the study hospital during the fiscal year of 2008. The disability levels were determined by using Thailand ministerial guidelines as well as the Barthel index score. Cost-of-illness estimates followed the prevalence-based approach and it presented the societal perspective of cost-of-illness of diabetes in 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study results showed that 9.68% of the study participants had physical impairment while 9.26% had impairment in eyesight. The Barthel index score showed that 13.5% of the study participants were disabled. When comparing costs between independent and disabled persons, considering the Barthel index score, average costs for the disabled diabetic persons were significantly higher than for those who were independent (US$2700.29 versus 598.24; P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study concluded that the presence of complications and disability among diabetic patients impacts severely on Thai society. At present, the Thai government allocates US$187.5 per annum to registered disabled persons as a disability living allowance. The study found a large difference between the direct economic outlay of the patients and the allowance provided, which suggests that there is probably a need to revise the welfare payment upwards.
authors.affiliation: Division of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Arthorn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Riewpaiboon
authors.forename: Susmita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Wachara
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Riewpaiboon
authors.forename: Piyanuch
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piyauthakit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003625:Data Collection; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics / Q000503:physiopathology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics / Q000503:physiopathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013785:Thailand; D055815:Young Adult